Laying linoleum and similar floor coverings



Feb. 7, 1928.

I 8,178 c. N. wENmc LAYING LINOLEFUI AND SIMILAR {L005 COVBRINGS FiledJune 3, 1927 FIG. Z.

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Patented Feb. 7, 1928.

UNITED STATES CALVIN N. WENRICH, 0F LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TOARMSTRONG OORK COMPANY, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA,

VANIA.

A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- LAYING LIN OLEUM AND SIMILAR FLOOR COVERINGS.

Application filed June 3, 1927. Serial No. 198,203.

This invention relates to laying linoleum or similar hard surfaced floorcoverings, and more particularly to the laying of such a floor coveringwith an improved lining between it and the floor.

The boards of wooden floors are subject to contraction or expansion dueto atmospheric conditions which tend to open or close the joints betweenthe boards. It has been found that when linoleum is cemented directly toa wooden floor the shrinkage of the floor boards may cause the linoleumto open at the joints and may even rupture the linoleum over a jointbetween floor boards. Also, irregularities in the floor hoards appear asirregularities in the surface of the linoleum.

In order to relieve the linoleum from direct application of strainscaused by shrinking floor boards and to smooth out the surfaceirregularities, it has been the usual practice, when a linoleum is to becemented in place, to first apply a lining of heavy felt to the floor. Acement or suitable adhesive is first applied to the floor, then the feltis laid, and then the linoleum is cemented to the upper surface of thefelt. The felt is structurally weak and allows the cracks between floorboards to open and close without transmitting a rupturing strain to thelinoleum. This freedom of relative motion between the lower surface ofthe felt which is cemented to the boards and the upper surface of thefelt which is cemented to the linoleum is due to its physical structure.The felt is made of fiber, such as rag or cotton fiber or paper stock ora mixture of them, which is felted together in a felting or paper makingmachine to form a layer of felt or fibrous material having a generallylaminar structure. Examination of a piece of builders felt shows that itcan be readily pulled apart, splitting along the laminar planes betweenthe layers or laminae of the felted material. Moreover, the material ofthe felt is yielding, so that there can be a relative movement betweenthe top surface of the felt and the bottom surface of the felt, eitherdue to a slight yielding of the felted fibers or even for largermovements to an actual slippage between the laminae of the felt. It isthis ability of the felt to permit the movement of the floor boardsuntransmitted to the linoleum which particularly adapts it as a liningfor laying linoleum on a wooden floor.

It has been found, however, that there are certain difficultiesencountered in the use of the felt lining for linoleum. There is often atendency. for the stri s of linoleum at their edges to curl upwar y.This tendeucy to curl is resisted b the cement which sticks the linoleumto t e felt. However, since the felt is structurally weak and is made upof a more or less layer-like arrangement of felted fibers, the upwardstrain of the edge of linoleum may cause the felt to split in ahorizontal plane through the felt and between its laminae. Anexamination of a curled seam between two pieces of linoleum showsusually that the bottom surface of the felt is cemented t0 the floor andthe upper surface is cemented to the linoleum, but that the felt hassplit alon a horizontal plane and therefore does not hold the linoleumdown, allowing the edges to curl up away from the floor.

The felt is not only structural] weak along a direction normal to the pone of the felt, but is relatively weak in resistin strainslongitudinally of the felt. It is therefore found that if a jointbetween two strips of linoleum coincides or lies near an expanding crackbetween floor boards, that the expanding crack between the boards willtransmit sufficient force to the linoleum to open the joint between thetwo strips, stretching or tearing the felt apart along the line of thejoint.

I have found that the advantages in the use of a felt lining for layinglinoleum may be obtained and the fore oing difliculties overcome byinterposin a s ieet of aper or similar thin inextensibe material tweenthe felt and the linoleum. In laying the linoleum according to mymethod, the felt is cemented to the floor, a layer of strong paper iscemented to the felt, and the linoleum is cemented to the paper. Thefelt allows the cracks between the floor boards to open and close due toatmospheric or seasonal conditions, but the paper serves to prevent theadjacent edges of the strips of linoleum from curling up and preventsthe joints between the two ieces of linoleum from opening due toshrinkage of the floor boards. The lining is preferably made at thefactory by cementing the paper to the felt so that the man who lays thelinoleum simply cements the lower felt face of the composite lining tothe floor and cements the linoleum to the to or paper face.

In the drawings, w ich illustrate the preferred embodiment of myinvention,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a floor upon which thelinoleum is laid Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view through thefloor, the linoleum and lining, showing the floor boards running atright angles to the strips of lining and linoleum, as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the floor boards runningparallel to the strips of linoleum and lining;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a modified form oflining; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the modified form of liningemployed in Figure 4.

Referring to the illustrated embodiment of the invention, there is shownin Figure 1 a wooden floor made up of floor boards 2, a layer of felt 3cemented to the floor, a layer of aper 4 cemented to the top of thefelt, an a linoleum 5 cemented to the top of the paper. The linoleum andfelt are laid in the usual wa s using the usual pastes or cementsemploye for such purpose. Usually the lining is cemented to the floorwith what is known as linoleum layers paste, and the linoleum iscemented to the lining with a similar paste except for a few inches eachside of the joints between the linoleum, along which a weatherproofcement is used.

The felt which I employ is the usual unsaturated grey lining felt madeof rags and cotton employed as a lining for laying linoleum. Thestandard felt used for this purpose is approximately one-tenth of aninch thick and weighs about 1 poundsper square yard. Felt of thestandard weight may be used, although I prefer to use a somewhat lighterfelt, say of a weight about one pound per square yard, particularlywhere the composite lining consisting of the felt and paper is made upat the factory. When the felt is cemented to the floor and the linoleumis cemented to the felt, the upper and lower surfaces of the felt becomesomewhat im regnated with the cements or astes applied by the men wholay the linoeum. The felt therefore has to be thick enough so as toleave a core or center of unimpregnated fibers to allow the relativemovement or slippage required. It has been found that felt of a weightof about 1 ounds per square yard has been sufficient. gVhen the paper iscemented to the felt at the factory the adhesive can be spread onthinner and more evenly, so that the upper surface of the felt will beless impregnated and stiffened by the adhesive. For this reason, it ispossible to use a somewhat thinner felt than is feasible when the menwho lay the linoleum apply the adhesive by hand to the upper surface ofthe felt. The thinner layer of felt reduces the cost of the lining. Alsothe thinner layer of felt minimizes the depressions made by casters andthe legs of heav furniture resting on the lino cum. \Vhile I prefer touse the usual felt employed in laying linoleum, other similar materialswhich would allow for the relative movement of the floor boards might beemployed, such, for example, as batting of soft fibrous materials.

The sheet material which is applied to the top of the felt between itand the lino leum is preferably paper. Paper is structurally stron andhas practically no stretch and is theref bre peculiarly adapted for thispurpose. The paper should be sufficiently strong so as to resist therupturing strains which may be imposed on the lining by the shrinkingfloor boards. As a specific example, I have found a paper known as aheavy jute fiber container board about .02 thick and withstanding poundsMullen test to be satisfactory. Other strong papers might be used, suchas the heavy kraft papers. The pa er should be stron enou h so thatunder tie most unfavorab e con itions usually encountered in woodenfloors, the slippage will occur between the upper and lower layers ofthe felt without rupture of the paper. This balance of strength in favorof the paper as against the felt, insures that the joints between theadjacent strips of linoleum willnot 0 en up under even the mostunfavorable con itions usually encountered in wooden floors.

Moreover, the paper will prevent the edges of linoleum from curling upand opening the seam between the strips of linoleum, which experiencehas shown'that the felt alone will not prevent. The edges of thelinoleum will of (Ulll'sl' be cemented securely to the top surface ofthe paper. The paper is strong and substantially inextensible ornon-stretchable, so that if the adjacent edges of two strips of linoleumtend to curl up and thereby separate, they will be held together by thepaper. The paper lies beneath the linoleum in a flat horizontal plane,and if the paper were to be raised it would mean that the paper wouldhave to be stretched from a flat into a bowed condition, which could notoccur since the paper will not stretch. Also, the paper itself does nothave the tendency of splitting along any cleavage planes, and thelifting tendency which is localized on the top of the paper along theline of the seam will e distributed by the paper over a considerablylarger area on the top of the felt in the neighborhood of the seam.

While it is preferred to use paper because Ill] it is cheap, readilyobtainable in the desired weights andstrength, and pliable so that itcan be rolled up, other materials which have the desired characteristicsof substantial inextensibility and strength to resist rupture might beemployed, such, for example, as very thin metal, or possibly a hardwoven suitably reinforced or impregnated textile fabric, or a wirecloth.

Referring particularly to the drawings, Figure 1 shows the strips oflining material and linoleum laid at ri ht an les to the floor board,which is pre erred if the laying conditions are convenient. However, thestrips of lining and linoleum may be laid parallel to the fl5or boards.The strips of lining material may be laid either parallel or at rightangles to the strips of linoleum. Usually for convenience the strips oflining material are laid lengthwise of the room in the same direction asthe strips of linoleum. When this is done the linoleum and liningmaterial should be laid so that the joints befiveen the strips of liningmaterial do not coincide with or too closely approach the joints betweenthe strips of linoleum.

In Figure 2 there is shown a fragmentary cross-section illustrating thematerials as laid in Figure 1 with the lining material and linoleum"laid at right angles to the floor boards.

In Figure 3 there is illustrated the laying of the strips of linoleumparallel to the floor boards. Figure 3 illustrates the most severecondition encountered, namely, the coincidence of the joint 6 betweenadjacent strips of linoleum immediately above a joint 7 between floorboards. In this case the longitudinal stress due to shrinking of thefloor boards will be localized along the line in the paper immediatelybelow the joint between the two strips of linoleum. The paper should bestrong enough so that if the floor boards 2' separate to open up a crackat 6 between the boards, the paper will not be torn but instead the feltwill yield, or if the movement is great enough the felt will actuallyrupture along its cleavage planes to permit slippage between its upperand lower layers.

igures 4 and 5 illustrate a modification. Instead of having the edges ofthe paper coincide with the edges of the felt, the strip of paper 4 isoffset somewhat to one side of the strip of felt 3, so that when laidthe extending flap 8 of the paper will overlie the extending flap 9 ofthe felt. In this way the joint 10 between thc edges of the paper willbe offset from the joint 11 between the edges of the felt.

\Vhilc it is preferred to make up the composite lining by securing thepaper to the felt at the factory, the felt may be laid first on thefloor and the paper thereafter cemented to the laid felt. Also, while itis preferred to use a cement to secure the paper to the felt, it mightbe otherwise secured, as by stitching.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to thelaying of linoleum, it will be understood that it may be applied in thelaying of other hard surfaced fioor coverings, such as felt base goods,oil cloths, cork or composition tiling, and so forth.

I have illustrated and described certain preferred embodiments of minvention, but it will be understood that t e invention is not limitedthereto but may be otherwise practiced and embodied within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of laying linoleum or similar floor covering, whichcomprises laying on the floor a lining having a layer of felt and asuperposed layer of paper, and cementing the linoleum to the top of thelining.

2. The method of laying linoleum or similar floor covering, whichcomprises cementing to the floor a lining formed of a layer of felt anda superposed layer of paper cemented to the felt, and thereaftercementing the linoleum to the lining.

3. The method of laying linoleum or similar floor covering, whichcomprises laying on the floor a lining comprising a layer ofstructurally weak yielding material and a superposed layer of a strongsubstantially inextensible thin sheet material, and securing thelinoleum to the top of the lining.

4. The method of la ing linoleum or similar floor covering, w llCllcomprises cementing to the floor a lining consisting of a sheet of feltand a thin sheet of strong substantially inextensible material cementedto the to of the felt, and thereafter cementing the linoleum on top ofthe lining.

5. Alining for laying linoleum or similar floor covering, comprising alayer of felt and a layer of paper secured thereto.

6. A lining for laying linoleum or similar floor covering, comprising alayer of felt and a la er of paper cemented thereto.

7. A ining for linoleum or similar floor covering, comprising a layer ofrelatively weak yieldable material and a layer of thin strongsubstantially extensible material secured thereto.

8. The combination of a floor, a lining consisting of a sheet of feltcemented to the floor and a sheet of paper cemented to the top of thefelt, and a hard-surfaced floor covering cemented to the top of thelining.

9. The combination of a floor, a lining laid over the floor andcomprising a layer of felt and a superposed layer of paper, and ahardsurfaced floor covering cemented to the top of the lining.

10. The combination of a floor, a lining laid on the floor andcomprising a layer of felt and a superposed layer of paper, and a,hardsurfaced floor covering cemented to the lining, there being abalance of strength 5 in favor of the paper suflicient to permitslippage between the layers of the felt before tearing of the paper willoccur at seams between the pieces of the floor covering.

11. The combination of a wooden floor, a 10 lining cemented t0 the floorcomprising a layer of felt and a superposed layer paper cemented to thefelt, and a. hard-surfaced floor covering cemented to the paper, thepaper being of sufiicient strength so that slippage will occur betweenthe layers of the felt before the paper will be torn along seams betweenpieces of the floor ,covering by movements of the floor boards.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CALVIN N. WENRIGH.

laid on the floor and comprising a layer of paper cemented to the felt,and a hard-surfelt and a superposed layer of paper, and faced floorcovering cemented to the paper, a hard-surfaced floor covering cementedto the paper being of suflicient strength so that the lining, therebeing a balance of strength slippage will occur between the layers of 155 in favor of the paper sufiicient to permit the felt before the paperwill be torn along slippage between the layers of the felt he seemsbetween pieces of the floor covering fore tearing of the paper willoccur at seams by movements of the floor boards. between the pieces ofthe floor covering. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 11. Thecombination of a wooden floor, a my hand. 10 lining cemented to thefloor comprising a layer of felt and a superposed layer of CALVIN N.VVENRICH.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,658,178. Granted February 7, 1928, to

CALVIN N. WENRIUH.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3,line 118, claim 7, for the word "extensible" read "inextensible"; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of March, A. D. 1928.

M. J. Moore, Seal. Acting Commissioner of Patents CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,658,178. Granted February 7, 1928, to

CALVIN N. WENRIUH.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3,line I18, claim 7, for the word "extensible" read "inextensible"; andthat the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same may conlorm to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of March, A. D. 1928.

M. J. Moore,

Seal. Acting Commissioner of Patents

